Senator Feinstein ran for reelection at aged 85. A full term in the Senate is 6 years. So if she didn't die in that time (which is a very real possibility at her age) then she would be 91 at the end of her term. That's... ridiculous.<p>She seems to be in clear mental decline now, so much so that she stepped down (some say was removed) from the senate Judiciary committee [1].<p>So what allowed her to get renominated? Simple she was good at the most important thing for a large blue state Democratic Senator: fundraising. For whatever reason, she was a <i>massive</i> rainmaker. You have to be to be nominated as a Demorat for Senate in California. kamala Harris was too. It's pretty much how she rose to being VP now.<p>It's also why Chuck Schumer is the Senate Majority Leader and also why you will <i>never</i> see any serious Wall Street reform under the current system. It is the core of Schumer's fundraising base.<p>So there's a fine line between fundraising and corruption (legally speaking). Unfortuantely this Supreme Court has decided that money is speech [2], which has made all this even more important.<p>As polarized as things may seem, all that is on social issues. Both parties have class solidarity with the capital-owning class that has bought both sides.<p>So we can look at Feinstein's "corruption" in isolation but that's really missing the forest for the trees.<p>[1]: <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/23/dianne-feinstein-step-down-senate-judiciary-439836" rel="nofollow">https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/23/dianne-feinstein-st...</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC#:~:text=Because%20spending%20money%20is%20essential,to%20speak%20on%20political%20issues" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC#:~:text...</a>.